The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 110



110. Towards a New World (2)

* * *

“…….”

The Observer, his expression grave as he watched Erin’s party’s journey, cautiously slumped down, letting out a long sigh.

—How is it? Do you understand why this happened?

“……I don’t know. I still don’t know.”

In the face of this sudden appearance of a new continent, the Observer’s dominant feeling was bewilderment.

I mean, a new continent? That was unheard of. If such a thing truly existed, they wouldn’t have been unaware of it.

Surely, the observable world, the ‘world’ given to them, was limited to the place where Erin, the girl chosen by god, existed.

It seems that it wasn’t just creations or the god who were fluttered by this sudden appearance of a new world.

However, setting aside the confusing emotions, one fact remained certain—

Crunch, crunch!

—Looks like this is the “other world” I’ve only heard about in stories.

The observer carefully consumed the ‘divine power’ to sustain its life.

*Good job!*

“Yeah, I guess it’s safe to assume so.”

Seeing the concept of ‘patronage’ applied, that place we reached some decades ago based on the standards of the world we observed—it was probably a place where our kin had exerted influence.

It was undoubtedly a fragment of the ‘world that has contacted another god,’ something I’ve only ever heard about.

The fact that two worlds that should never meet were connected was definitely because—

‘… the influence of 150,000 won worth of divine power.’

The moment he received that staggering amount—150,000 won in patronage.

A blindingly white flash, so intense it hurt to look, swept into this place where only darkness existed, save for a pillar of light.

Even the observer, now a living being, couldn’t do much against the overwhelming surge of divine power.

He could only barely reach out a hand to try and gather the pouring power.

Even this was difficult, as gaining limbs meant that movement was limited, so a fellow companion was collecting it for him.

In any case, considering the fact that he recovered his memories at the same moment the light engulfed them all—

It wasn’t too hard to guess how this situation had come about.

It was unprecedented, but divine power was an overwhelming force capable of anything.

It wasn’t so strange that it had made what seemed impossible possible, was it?

‘Balloon… ‘

The observer cautiously mulled over the word ‘balloon’.

Based on his conversation with the god, it seemed like the god knew what it meant.

There’s only one thing you can expect.

That our kin, observing that world, had also tried to communicate with the ‘Domain of God’, just like us.

We were beings who couldn’t do anything without the power of God.

To appeal to the gods existing in the Domain of God, we use their language, disguise ourselves as something they might like.

Actually, there was a misnomer in the word ‘do’. Like a camouflage that existed from the beginning, it was just something we were born with.

So—

From noble mtl dot com

“……Give me some money.”

—?

“That was my name.”

Without knowing their name was ‘Give me some money,’ they simply become ‘Give me some money’.

Because that was the camouflage given to us to appeal to the Domain of God.

Then, could the ‘balloon’ existing in that world also be something similar to our names?

Lost in thought, the observer slumped down, and it spoke to them.

—What are you worrying about?

“Is this okay?”

Is it truly okay to observe the existence of a new continent—a New World—and show it to God?

Is it alright for us to reach out towards something unprecedented in the history of our kin?

It noticed the observer’s question and answered.

—If it is a possibility newly opened by the power of God, there is no need for doubt. The world’s response is acting on behalf of the will of Igguguodun-nim, isn’t this the ‘new path’ that God desires?

“I know that much.”

— And you shouldn’t forget that you becoming a living thing in the first place was already something that should never have happened.

“……Pfft!”

Hearing that, the observer couldn’t help but chuckle.

That hollow laughter at a nonsensical statement was, itself, proof of being alive.

— What’s so funny?

“Nothing. Just, well… I guess you’re right.”

Though that’s how they answered—the observer’s heart was in turmoil.

Was suddenly connecting to another world really something we could handle?

And if not, what would become of us?

We were just observers, yet as observers, we had control over our world.

If the new world broke free of the bounds of what we could control—what would happen then?

Nothing could be guaranteed, nothing at all—

‘… It’ll be alright. God’s will must always be fulfilled. This is just more of the same.’

God’s command — “Within the bounds of not breaking the absolute rules of this world, entrust everything to the response of the world.”

Whatever the outcome, this itself was essentially God’s will, so the observer must act without doubt, and without hesitation.

The fact they couldn’t fully accept God’s will and worried about the future was also a consequence of gaining a self; the observer desperately pushed this aside.

To notice and acknowledge that they were gradually starting to question instead of blindly following the world’s response—

That was far too devastating a thing for the observer, who was still a fledgling life form.

* * *

Having arrived on the new continent, Erin and her party headed toward the village, guided by Rengard.

It’d been a long time, and a long stretch in the fog of lost memories, so it’d be understandable if recollections were hazy – but his sunken eyes, guiding the way, held a peculiar confidence.

As if everything had happened just yesterday, vividly fresh.

And, finally, they were able to reach the village.

—Or, more accurately, what *used* to be a village.

The sight before them—

Homes and foundations reduced to ash, as if ravaged by fire, and…

“N-no way…!”

“Your Majesty! Do not approach this way!”

“Eeeek…!”

“Priestess, you must compose yourself!”

—A few scattered skulls and bones.

Seeing bones, unnervingly similar to human ones, strewn everywhere, Luca, pale as a ghost, muttered.

“What in the world is this…?”

“Horrible. It looks like ruins left abandoned for decades after being destroyed by bandits.”

Ophelia’s words made Erin shiver.

And it was true… The scene here mirrored her hometown, utterly ruined, before she was chosen as a Saintess.

The difference was the skeletons. What Erin had faced in that time were not skeletons, but the previous stage – rotting corpses.

The terrible past resurfacing, her trauma igniting a fire within, caused Erin’s breathing to momentarily turn ragged –

‘…No, Erin. You have Lord Igugudon by your side now… You can’t crumble here.’

Strangely enough, the moment she became aware that Lord Igugudon was acting with her, so close by, she was able to regain her composure at an astonishing speed.

Erin, having hardened her resolve that she wouldn’t hesitate anymore, cautiously asked Rengard,

“Your Grace, is this truly the place where the village you remember is located?”

“Y-yes… the location, the surrounding scenery, it’s definitely this place…”

Rengard, also as if unable to believe this desolate sight, looked around with trembling pupils.

“That tree! I had a meal with them under that big tree. And on the right, at that house site, there was a building presumed to be a religious facility! I’m sure of it! This is the place!”

“However…”

Could a war have possibly broken out?

Beyond worrying about the possibility of newly encountered strangers being hostile, she began to fret over whether they had to clash with yet another group. Just then,

“Hey, Saintess! Come over here!”

The owner of the voice was Luka, who was energetically looking around here and there with Ophelia.

As they went closer to where her shout had come from—

“This is… a tombstone?”

In a space that was like a ruin where everything was broken, one particularly clean tombstone revealed itself.

On this tombstone, there were letters that looked as if they had been carved with a chisel… but because the script was completely different from their own, they couldn’t decipher the content.

“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like it was just put up as a decoration… perhaps it’s a memorial?”

“But there are absolutely no remains that were recovered, so it’s hard to call it a memorial.”

“That is certainly true…”

“If we could just confirm the content, it would be a simple matter, but we can’t read it at all… Your Grace, did you perhaps learn to read from them?”

Rengard bowed his head towards Erin, as if he was greatly apologetic.

“Alas, the only reason I was able to communicate with them was because they unilaterally used a power called ‘Ki’… I am sorry.”

“Saintess. I was thinking of taking a few priests capable of white magic to explore that forest.”

Ophelia’s words made Erin pause, lost in thought.

For a moment, she considered exploring the area further as Ophelia suggested.

“……Ah!”

The voice belongs to Karen, a being who embodied stark, unadulterated fact.

Erin, as the Saintess, immediately understood what she was getting at.

“You’re going to use ‘stark fact,’ aren’t you?”

“That’s right! Since the power left by the gods still exists… I think I can use it to interpret it! Of course, this is assuming the inscription isn’t just a sequence of meaningless shapes…”

“It seems worth a try. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

Karen carefully approached the gravestone, then, closing her eyes, she mumbled something and reached out a hand.

The moment her hand touched the stone… a pure white light began to bloom.

Stark fact. The great divine power that makes all things possible.

“……!”

Karen opened her eyes, and her brown pupils flickered with light.

And at that very moment… the characters flooding into her mind began to shift, slowly changing into sentences that we could understand.

Karen slowly parted her lips and read the first paragraph of the inscription.

“To the one who discovers this dreadful ruin. To the one who reads this, I warn you. God exists. And, you must never, ever, believe in God.”

“……???”

Don’t believe in God?

A completely unexpected statement pierced the air—but the truly shocking part was the sentence that followed.

“I warn you again. God most certainly exists. However—

——God has abandoned us.”